Parceled constructions in the linguistic structure of “Intelligentsia and cruelty” by G. V. Pryakhin

Abstract

For the first time, a semantic-functional and structural analysis of the linguistic structure of the work of G. V. Pryakhin, a Russian journalist, writer, and publisher, is undertaken. Pryakhin’s works are interesting not only for their problematics and depiction of contempo- rary reality but also for the originality of the linguistic organization, with the story “Intelli- gentsia and cruelty” taken as an example. A large number of various subject-expressive forms of syntax are found to be used in one work. The focus is on the structural-semantic and func- tional features of parcelation, one of the brightest subject-expressive syntactic tools with which to realize the author’s artistic goals. The analysis allowed the following conclusions to be made. First, both simple and complex sentences prove to be parceled. Simple sentences have their main and secondary members parceled. Parceled in complex sentences are the se- cond parts of compound and conjunctionless subordinates, subordinate parts of complex sub- ordinates, and parts of complicated structures, thus creating complex syntactic wholes. Se- cond, the parceled structures in the text under consideration contribute to conveying lively speech and creating a touch of informality, help a narrator deliver emotions, create gradation, provide additional information about the subject of description, as well as perform expressive- characterological and expressive-emphasizing functions. Also, they serve as a powerful tool for drawing the reader’s attention to more meaningful information and manipulating the reader’s consciousness.